A project formed in the mid-'80s by Tori Kudo and Reiko Kudo in Japan, Maher Shalal Hash Baz has evolved and gone through a number of transformations with a consistently rotating cast of band members. Hello, New York, the group's first release since 2009, was created while the band was visiting New York City for a 30th anniversary performance in September 2014: OSR label founder Zach Phillips brought members of the band and an assortment of other musicians together to record during their stay. Hello, New Yorkis a wild melding of musical energy. Short interludes stitch together songs and blissfully passionate jam sessions. The ecstatic nature of playing music bleeds through these recordings; they exist as a document and also a carrier of feeling—a richly layered sonic experience.